France

France
Artist - Amaury Vassili
Song - Sognu
Draw - Final, Place 11

One of the youngest contenders this year, is 21 year old, Amaury Vassili, who is also the youngest professional tenor in the world. He started singing at around 9 years of age, and was enrolled, by his mother, to a musical school in Rouen.

Amaury became famous in 2009, by releasing his debut album, "Vincero". After a world wide release, this album was certified Double Platinum. In November 2010, he released his second album "Cantero".

On the 27th January 2011, it was announced that France would be represented by Amaury.

"Sognu" will be sung in Corsican and will be the first French entry in 18 years to be sung in the language. The song was composed by Daniel Moyne and Quentin Bachelet, and written by Jean-Pierre Marcellesi.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 5/1 (Favourite to win)
My Prediction - I love it, and I think France will do very well this year, definitely top 6. But does it have that special something to win? I'm not sure....

                                       Bonne chance!!

Malta

Malta
Artist - Glen Vella
Song - One Life
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 11

Glen Vella, born 1983, is a well-known Maltese Artist. He has participated a few times in the Maltese selection, once as part of the band "Q". On the 11th and 12th of February, he took part in the selection again, but not as a clear favourite. As the votes were anounced, it was looking tight between him and two other acts. Yet as the night drew to a close, Glen had won and will represent the tiny Mediterranean country in May.

"One Life" was written by Fleur Balzan and composed by Paul Giordimania (who represented Malta in 1991 with "Could It Be". The song is a typical Eurovision song,  pop + meaningful song with a message =  TYPICAL EUROVISION!

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) -  200/1

My Prediction - It could suprise us all, but the odds are very much against them.......

                                          Awguri!

Later on today, you will be able to view the French profile!!

Serbia

Serbia
Artist - Nina
Song - Čaroban
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 6 

Nina (full name Danica Radojčić), was born in 1989, in Belgrade. Before becoming a well known artist, she performed in clubs with her band "Legal Sex Department". She states that her biggest influences are Muse and Duffy.

On the 16th February, it was revealed that Nina would take part in Serbia's National Selection (Pesma za Evropu), to try and represent the Balkan country at Eurovision. Serbia changed its way of selecting their entry slightly this year, by using the Kovač family to write a song each, and then for them to pick an act to sing it. Nina was picked by one of the daughters Kristina. In the end she won with a landslide victory of 14,900 votes, almost four times the amount of the second place artist.

The song, Čaroban, was both written and composed by Kristina Kovač. An English version of the song was made, under the title "Magical, although its been stated that Nina will sing in Serbian at Eurovision.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 66/1

My Prediction - A very catchy tune, and will definitely qualify. I think it will place between 10th and 20th in the final.

If you like Čaroban, vote for Serbia in my ex-Yugoslavian poll!!

                           Срећно!

A New Top Ten??

Betting agents across Europe have been sticking to the same pattern this year when it comes to who they think will be in the top ten.

Unusually, normal Eurovision favourites such as Turkey, Greece and Ukraine, have all been ranked fairly low, with Turkey at 40/1 and with Greece and the Ukraine at a rather suprising 100/1. Also the tope ten is being largly dominated by Western countries this year. Are we starting to see a comeback for the Western nations, after wins from Norway and Germany?

Take a look at the new top ten (William Hill) -

France 5/1
United Kingdom 6/1
Estonia 6/1
Norway 10/1
Azerbaijan 10/1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 10/1
Sweden 12/1
Germany 12/1
Hungary 14/1
Denmark 14/1

Just missing out on the tope ten are Ireland, Russia and comeback nation, Austria.

Yet again, Portugal are dominating the bottom of the leaderboard, with a rather dismal 250/1.

So what do you think of these predictions? Will we be saying Bonjour Paris in 2012??

Check back later today when we'll be taking a look at Nina and Caroban from Serbia!!

Greece

Greece
Artist - Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike
Song - Watch My Dance
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 19

Cypriot born, Loukas Giorkas, will be representing Greece this year along with Mihalis Exarhos, commonly known as Stereo Mike.


Loukas, born in October 1986, was the winner of the first series of the Greek, X Factor. His first album, entitled "Mazi", was released in September 2009, and obtained Gold Status within Greece. Loukas is also at the University of Patras, studying Biology.


Mihalis, born in 1978, is a popular hip-hop artist who rose to fame between 2003 and 2005.
He has had three hit albums in Greece; Satirical Nomads (2004), XLI3H (2007) and Aneli3h (2011).

Loukas Giorkas and Stereo Mike won the Greek Selection on the 2nd March 2011.


The Greek song this year is "Watch My Dance", written by Giannis Christodoulopoulos & Eleana Vrahali. It is a charming mix of hip hop and contemporary laïkó.


Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 100/1
My Prediction - I can understand the popularity of this song, yet its a slightly disappointing entry from the Greeks. This could be the first year that they don't get into the top ten......

καλή τύχη!

Denmark

Denmark

Artist - A Friend In London
Song - New Tomorrow
Draw - Semi-Final 2, Place 18

Originating from Vostrup, A Friend In London is an all boy band, made up of Tim Schou, Sebastian Vinther, Aske Damm Bramming and Esben Svane. They became a group in 2005 when at boarding school together. Also in 2005, lead singer, Tim, won the competition "Danish Young Talent", earning the band a record deal, which lead to the release of their first single, "Thoughts of a Boheme".

The Band's big break came in 2008, when taking part in the US competition "Bodog Million Dollar Battle of the Bands". They won the European part of the competition and were able to move further into it, however they decided not to go any further with this, as they felt the it wasn't right for them. After this, they began to tour America and Canada. Recently, they signed a management contract with with a Canadian music group.

In late February 2011, AFIL won Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, and earned the right to represent Denmark in Germany. Their song "New Tomorrow" was written by Lise Cabble and Jakob Glæsner. It has peaked at number 2 in the Danish singles chart.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 14/1

My Prediction - Another great song from Denmark, top 15.

If New Tomorrow is one of your favourite songs this year, vote for Denmark in my Scandanavian Poll!!

                           Held og lykke Danmark!!

Norway

Norway
Artist - Stella Mwangi
Song - Haba Haba
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 2

Kenyan born Stella Mwangi, won the right to represent Norway, through the Norwegian selection process, Melodi Grand Prix. From the beginning she was the favourite to win the show. As well as being a singer, Stella is also a pianist, rapper and songwriter, who often writes about Kenyan life, as well as the troubles she and her family faced when they moved to Norway in the early 1990s. She has had major hits in Kenya, as well as Gambia and Senegal. Some of her work has been used in films and TV shows such as American Pie and Scrubs.

Her song for Eurovision 2011, is african themed "Haba Haba" (Little by Little), which she wrote herself. It is a motivational song, which explains how to never give up your dreams. Below are examples of this taken from the two main verses of the song -

• When I’s a little girl my grandma told me, that I could be just anything that I wanted to
• When I’s a little girl my grandma told me, that it’s the little things in life that’s gone make me happy

When Stella wrote the song, she based it on actual past events, which were based around her complaining to her grandmother, that she couldn't get what she wanted quick enough.
To This her grandmother replied "Haba haba, Hujaza Kibaba" which is Swahili for Little by little, you will get what you wish (rough translation).

The song peaked at Number 1 on the Norwegian charts VG-lista.

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 10/1
My Prediction - Will definitely make the top 10.

If Haba Haba is your favourite song this year, vote for Norway in my Scandanavian Poll!!

                              Lykke til Norge!

Check this blog out later today for Denmark's profile!!

Day Number 2

Well it's now our second day of blogging and site views just keep soaring!!

We have already had 220 views since last night! I hope you're all enjoying the blog and don't forget to pop back later on today when the country profiles of Norway and Denmark will be available!!

Ciao!

Successful First Day of Blogging!!

At the end of our first day blogging, its shown to be a very successful start!

We have had views from all across Europe, including the UK, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Albania, Croatia, Greece, Malta and many more!! There has also been high interest from outside Europe, including Japan and the US!

The total page views for the end of our first day blogging is 188! May not seem much to many people, but we are proud that people have been interested in reading our profiles and blogs on Eurovision.

Lets hope for another great day tomorrow, and tune in for the profiles of Norway and Denmark!!

Croatia

Croatia
Artist - Daria
Song - Celebrate
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 13

Daria Kinzer won the right to represent her country at Eurovision, through the Croatian selection process - Dora 2011, Let's Go To Eurovision. She was born in Germany, and raised in Austria, although she is of Croatian origin.





After a very long selection, spanning from January to March, Daria won the final with the song "Lahor",written by Boris Đurđević. Although she won with the Croatian version of the song, it was announced that in the first semi-final of Eurovision, she will perform it in English, under the title "Celebrate".

Current Betting Odds (William Hill) 125/1
My Prediction - It's a pleasant song, and stands out from the others. I  think it will get to the final.

If Daria has your support this year, vote for Croatia in my ex-Yugoslavian poll!!

                                         Sretno!!

Who are the favourites so far??

After a few weeks of knowing all of the participating songs in this years Eurovision, betting agents and Eurovision websites have been quick to reveal who they think has the winning formula to win this year.

Amaury Vassili, the
French
Representative

        

 
William Hill (A UK bookmaker) favours France to win, with the UK, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Sweden and Germany close behind. They also predict FYR Macedonia, Malta and Portugal being at the bottom. A prediction that I don't think will be far wrong!!

Eurovision fan site, The Eurovision Times, favour Estonia to be the front runner, with Amaury Vassili from France in a close second. Eric Saade of Sweden is in third with the UK in a steady fourth with boyband, Blue. Last years winner Lena, completes the top 5.

Estonian, Getter Jaani, is
one of the favourites on
ESC Nation 

ESC Nation, has a poll running for each country to award points to others, in the traditional Eurovision fashion. Since the poll opened a few weeks ago, the top three have not yet changed, with Kati Wolfe, Eric Saade and Getter Jaani, from Hungary, Sweden and Estonia respectively, changing from positions 1 to 3. The UK are in fourth with Germany and France battling it out for the 5th place.

 


ESC Today have their tradtional "Big Poll". Here is whats predicted by the European public, as to which ten countries will make it through to the final.

Semi-final 1 (participants in alphabetical order)

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Russia & Turkey

Semi-final 2 (participants in alphabetical order)

Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Israel, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden & The Netherlands


So do these predictions match what you think will happen?

Stay tuned for Croatia's profile blog, later today.

Russia

Russia

Artist - Alexey Vorobyov
Song - Get You
Draw - Semi-Final 1, Place 7
Alexey Vorobyov was born in Russia (then the USSR) in 1988. He is known within Russia for being signed in 2006, and growing in popularity each year within the music industry. He competed to represent Russia in the 2008 contest, yet lost to the inevitable winner Dima Bilan. In 2009 he competed yet again, but lost to Ukrainian Anastasia Prikhodko........obviously in 2011 Russia couldn't find anyone better!

His song is "Get You" composed by Morrocan songwriter RedOne, who also wrote some of Lady Gaga's smash hits, including Poker Face, Just Dance, and LoveGame. It seems like Russia will stop at nothing to get back into the top ten, now that block voting is less able to work.


Current Betting Odds (William Hill) - 16/1
My Prediction - Not a winner as its a bit stuck in the 80s, but definitely top ten!

               Удачи!

Week 1

Hey all,

This week will be the start of my participant blogs for this years Eurovision. Each day I will compose a blog for each of the 43 participating countries. Some days will include two. Here is how this week looks -

Russia, Croatia, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Serbia, Malta, France, Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal, Germany, San Marino and Slovenia

Stay tuned today for the first two blogs - Russia and Croatia!!

Welcome! Tervetuloa! Willkommen! Bienvenue! Bienvenido! Welkom!.....and all the rest!!

Hello and Welcome to my Eurovision 2011 Blog!

In the run up to Eurovision week in May, I will be doing a blog per day, on each of the contending countries this year. This will include, a little information about the song, singer, its standing in the lead up to the competition, and also how the country has faired in past years.
I will also be updating the betting odds and the favourites to win Eurovision this year.
So be sure to stay tuned for the first Country's blog later today!

Speak Soon!